The Crossover Chronicles
by Murdoc Hunter
Summary: 3 humans from earth. 4 well known video game characters. Many dimensions in disarray. Welcome to The Crossover Chronicles of Murdoc Hunter, Terry Marmo, and Karla Hunter. As told through Murdoc's own daughter, Emily, she retells the story of Murdoc's past through the journals of her father's travels and adventures. I only own my OCs, nothing else. One can dream, though...
1. Prologue

"_This isn't fair!" Emily Sayoko Hunter screamed at her mother. "I don't need to go to that stupid meeting!" _

"_Young lady, if you don't start acting your age this instant…" Came the booming voice of Emily's father. Emily froze at her father's voice, as he came down the stairs wearing his black slacks and a light gray formal shirt. _"_It's very important that you show up. This is actually a part of your grade, you know." As he began to tuck in his shirt, Emily smirked up at him. "I already was in class today. I don't need to go back tonight! Call miss Tucker, she'll tell you herself. Besides, it's only for extra credit, which I don't need!" Her father looked down with concern in his eyes. "Murdoc, just let her stay. I really don't see the need for her to go back to class in the same day just to stand around with us. We'd probably embarrass her." Murdoc sighed before smirking at his young 13 year old daughter. "Maybe we __**should**__ embarrass her a little…"_

"_Ahh! Dad, nooo!" Emily shrieked at the thought of what they would do to humiliate her in front of her classmates & peers. "Ha ha! Relax Emily. I wouldn't dream of doing that…tonight…I don't think calling Myra would be necessary. Calling her this late over something so trivial…"Murdoc said deep in thought, as his wife pulled her white fur coat out of the hall closet. "Well, you be a good girl and finish your homework, and maybe we'll see about letting uncle Terry take you out to the movies tomorrow." In a flash, Emily made her way upstairs to her room, with her parents laughing at her sudden excitement over 'doing her homework' before they left for the Parent-Teacher night at their child's school. Little did they know, Emily hade finished her homework in class, but didn't want to go back to school and miss her late night anime. "*sigh* I really am my father's daughter…" she said as she walked out of her room to get to the kitchen. However, something on the ground caught her eye as she was walking down the stairs._

_On the edge of the stairs was a small silver ring. Emily knelt down and examined it before coming to a conclusion. "Oh! This is the pull ring for the attic latch. But what's it doing on the ground?" As she looked up, she realized that her hunch was right. The string had snapped and the ring was gone. She jumped up and could barely reach the string, but after a few more tries, Emily was able to pulled down the latch, revealing an old folding staircase. Curiosity set in as she made her way up into the depths of the house attic, and what she found made Emily shiver in anticipation. _

"_Wow….What is all this stuff?" Emily said as he walked around the murky and dusty attic, examining everything she saw. An antique short blade, a Dsi, although no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't crack the pass code. "Weird Dsi. It keeps asking for a facial identification. Huh? I wonder whose face has to be scanned…?" Emily placed the device back where she found it. And moved on. "Whoa. I knew Dad like to cosplay for the Anime Expo, but he's much too big to act as Luigi…" She giggled to herself while twirling the green hat with the signature "L" on the front on her finger. However, she spun the hat a little too hard and it went gliding next to what looked like a wooden stick. As she retrieved the hat, her attention became focused on this extremely detailed and well crafted stick, sitting neatly on a pedestal. "Is this…a boe staff?" Emily said, reaching for it slowly. As she looked closer, she noticed a large blue box that looked like it was fairly new compared to the rest of the artifacts I the attic. Carefully moving the podium, she made her way to the box and opened it to reveal…._

"_Books! Just notebooks?" Emily said in disappointment. "That sucks! Here he's got all this neat stuff lying all over the place up here, but he keeps a buncha books in a chest! What's so great about THESE?" Emily began to rant out loud. Huffing, she took another look inside. "Well, these were written by my father. He did dated and logged with the time he wrote the entry, and it looks very acute in detail." she said as she flipped through the pages of a random book. "Well, if my dad wrote these, he must have SOME reason to keep it up here like this, and so many, too! Oh! Maybe it's his csae files of when he was still big as a famed detective!" Suddenly filled with excitement on what could be inside, she reached out and grabbed another book. _"_Hmm. I'll start with this book…"_

"_**Prologue**__…huh. Well, at least I know where to start. Journal XXVI, Entry I_

_I decided to re-write these particular books of my life, just to clarify a few events that seem to be cloudy to anyone who reads this. These events are quite unique and I would want my son to know of his father's history." She stopped reading and frowned. "Son! Gee, thanks Dad... Shows what you expected out of mom!"_

_"The event truly starts around the time I was planning an outing with my younger sister, as well as a surprise birthday..."_


	2. A Strange Scan

**Ch.1 ****A Strange Scan...**

_Emily Sayoko Hunter sat in the attic, starring at the pages of her father's journals. "This isn't right…There can't be any truth to these pages….OH! I've gotta get out of here before they return." Emily quickly placed the books she read back in the case she found them in and rushed toward the attic's staircase. Within a few minutes, she was able to close the entrance to the murky upper room and reach her bedroom when her parents opened the door. "Emily. We're back. Can you come down here please?" Murdoc called up to his daughter while hanging up his wife's coat. Emily rushed down to the living room and hopped over the couch, landing on the cushions. "Yeah, dad? What is it?" Her mother brushed some of silver white bangs out of her eyes. "First of all, DON'T jump over the furniture. Second, you've apparently had some problems fitting in with your class. Why is that, Emily?" Emily looked away from her slender figured mother. "I-I don't know, mom. I mean, I just don't like the way they all act…well, not all of them but…"_

_Murdoc sighed as he looked at his watch. "We can talk about that tomorrow. You've got school tomorrow and it's passed 8 o'clock. And what's more, you haven't even showered and gotten ready for bed…Is there something wrong?" Emily slowly nodded her head, looking up to her father, but before she could say a word, Murdoc's cell phone rang. "Hold that thought, girl. Hello…Yes, there isn't much going on right now. We just returned from Emily's Open House at her school…No, she stayed home to finish the homework for tomorrow….Yeah, no problem. You can come by. Okay, see ya, Alana." Murdoc looked back at his teenage daughter, who had apparently listened to his end of the conversation, and was waiting in anticipation for an obvious response. "*sigh* Fine, Em, you may stay up until 10:30, but after that it's straight to bed for you, ok?"_

"_Yeeessss!" Emily said as she rushed her way to her room to get her PJ's and have a shower. While in the shower, she began to think about certain events that she read about, which confused her. "Maybe…I could ask them without letting them know I was in the attic…" Thinking about what she wanted to say and how to say it, she dried herself off, put on her red pajamas and made her way down the stairs to see her martial arts instructor and long time friend of Murdoc, Alana Salazar. At the door with her was her older brother, Blaine, who poked Murdoc's forehead. As Emily made her way to the group of adults, Alana quickly threw a right hook to her side. Emily leaned back and threw her left leg to block her instructor's attack. Alana smiled as Emily smirked before performing a flip kick using Alana's arm as a boost to lift herself up. Alana moved back as Emily gracefully landed on her feet before being pushed down on her rear end. Emily looked up in confusion and saw Alana standing over her with her arm stretched out. "Don't be flashy unless you know for sure it's a knockdown. That, plus the fact you would have landed out for a penalty." Emily looked at the distance between where they started and where she is now and jumped up in surprise. Murdoc stood behind Alana. "And __**who**__ taught her these moves?" Alana, sweating bullets, slowly turned around to try to explain what happened. _

"_I learned them on my own, dad! She tells me not to use them, but I like them." Blaine knelt down next to Emily. "While its try that it catches the eye, it has many flaws like the one my sister showed you." Emily lowered her head in slight disappointment. "Okay…" As Emily settled down, a "__**FAALCOON PUUNNCH!**__" rang throughout the house. Murdoc, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, pointed to the couch near his daughter. "Sorry Emi, but could you give me my phone…HEY! Don't read it!" Emily looked at her mother, then her father. "What's Trace Memory?" Both parents mentally froze in place. Emily took no notice of their mental anguish as she continued to read the message. " You __**still**__ attend the Anime Expo __**&**__ you two cosplay as well!" Her mother quickly recovered and patted her child on the shoulder. "Well, we do like anime and manga. Aside from that, how do you think you get that bookshelf full of manga and DVD shelf loaded with anime?" Emily looked at her father with eyes wide open. "You mean you guys buy them all __**there**__?" Murdoc chuckled as he quickly snatched his phone back from his duagther's dainty hands as he read the rest of the message. Emily thought about what she had read in her father's journals, and an idea popped into her head. "This is the perfect opportunity to ask what I need to know." As she stood there deep in thought, Blaine called her to attention. "Yo, you just gonna stand there with that blank expression on your face or are ya' gonna get over here with the rest of us?" Blushing, she shook herself out of her thoughts._

"_Hey, dad? You say you always go to the Anime Expo, right?" Murdoc turned to Emily as she made her way over to the table where everyone had gathered. "Sure, as much as we can, anyways. There are time where it's just me, or my wife & Karla would go. Even Terry went a few times." Emily nodded. "Okay, but what about the first time you went? Was it by yourself or did everyone go?" Murdoc palmed his bearded chin for a minute before Alana spoke. "Well, I may not remember the first time you went, but I __**do**__ remember the one year that you did go. It was the only time Karla skipped out on her martial arts classes that week. In fact, she told me pretty much how it happened…_

"Don't worry about a thing, Terry. The event will go just as planned." Murdoc Hunter as over his speakerphone while typing figures into a program on his desktop computer. "Yes, but will your job interfere again, pulling you away from your social life?" Terry Marmo asked his lifelong friend. "The last time they did that, you wee swamped with work for a couple of weeks." Murdoc leaned back in his chair and turned to his 19 year old sister, Katherine Rholanda Hunter, who was watching T.V. "I'm taking my vacation early." Was the response Terry received. "What? You said that was for you and Karla! Is she ok with that?"

Murdoc stood from his comfort zone and picked up the phone. "Not a problem. My sis and I are going to the Anime Expo this weekend, and I'm long overdue for some Naruto! It'll just be Karla 'n I." Terry fell silent for a second before answering. "Guess that'll work. I'll be at the Karate dojo this Friday, but I'll have the DJ equipment ready and at your house on Wednesday. Can you have it set up by Friday?"

"Sure. It'll be done by Thursday afternoon, then we can all go out for dinner. You game?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you at Fry's Electronics on Tuesday."

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dad! I didn't know you worked on music, too!" Emily said, leaning on the table while listening intently to their story. Murdoc, smiled at his child. "Well, yeah, sure. There was more to me than just work…"_

"_And video games." Said a smirking Alana._

"_Or watching anime." Blaine said, laughing out loud, before having his side elbowed by his younger sister. It didn't stop his laughing, though._

"_Or playing YuGiOh." Said Murdoc's wife, who looked at him with a smile that said 'touch me and you DIE!'. Murdoc only shrugged. "Everyone's against me… Well, I was 24 at that time and was working as a private investigator, not yet a detective, so I had a lot of free time." Emily tilted her head to the side. "24? Wow, that's old!" Murdoc glared at Emily. "UGH! SHUT UP OR GO TO BED!" Alana placed a hand on Murdoc's shoulder "Whoa there, tiger. She's only 13, and she's your daughter." Alana then turned back to Emily. "Murdoc DID prioritize his life. He also worked with other police officers in his city department, as well as D.J. in his spare time." Blaine, still laughing, leaned on the glass table and pointed to Murdoc. "And he had a lot of that, huh?" Before Murdoc could attack Blaine, He stopped laughing to continue talking. _

"_But seriously, his free time might have been just playtime to most, but he utilized that time for some rather interesting projects. As far as your uncle Terry Marmo, that's still your dad's best friend, and he also was a D.J.'s in his spare time." Alana crossed her arms and nodded her head. "Terry is known for his skills in various martial arts. That's a guy __**nobody**__ wanted to fight." Emily looked at Alana. "Was uncle Terry really that strong?" Her mother answered instead. "Yes! Definitely. He was-no, still is one or the strongest guys I know. He also had plans for creating his own business, Marmo Industries way back then. So you see, both men had their plates full, but would always make time for one little lady_: _Katherine Rholonda Hunter." _

_Emily began to think, trying to put the pieces of what she heard together with what she read. "Who's that? Is that some relative I don't know?" Everyone at the table laughed at Emily's question. Her mother shook her head. "You know, it has been awhile since that name was actually used. Katherine is Karla, your aunt." Emily was in shock. "No way!" she thought. " Even in my dad's journals he didn't mention that! I guess she had been called that for so long it stuck." _

"_But wait." Emily began to speak again. "Why doesn't she use her real name?"_

_Murdoc smirked. "She can't stand her birth name. So to this day, she prefers the name "Karla". In fact, the only person who ever use her birth name was your late grandmother, Sonya Hunter."_ _Alana coughed to get everyone's attention again. "Now where'd I leave off... Oh! I remember. Karla said that you two had cosplayed on the second & last days of the expo with your dad looking like Kakashi from Naruto and Karla dressed as Beauty from BoBo-Bo-Bo-BoBo ... "_

"...Really, Doc. Did you have to cosplay as someone from Naruto **both days**?" Karla said as she removed her pink wig and let her long light brown hair fall past her shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know How you can hide all that hair in that wig, sis!" Karla smirked at Murdoc's rebuttal, while he brought three large bags of souvenirs bought throughout the convention inside next to the couch. "Funny. I've never seen _**black**_Kakashi before!"

"Heh. You're lucky you have light skin. That's the only way you'd play a good Beauty!"

"Puh-leez! I'm naturally beautiful!" Karla said, striking a modeling pose, making her older brother roll his eyes while taking his belongings to his room. "You girls are as vein as peacocks..." Karla laughed as she yelled back. "And you wonder why you don't have a girlfriend now. You're sooo picky!"

"...Whatever, Karlie. Check the machine. Seems like we have a few messages. "Murdoc said from his room. Karla looked over by the computer and saw a flashing "3" on the green monitor. As she pressed the play button, she sat in the large black office chair and swiveled left to right.

"Three messages. Friday, 4:27 pm. _Yo, it's ya boy, Ra. I guess you two left earlier than five. I've got the tracks that you and Ter wanted to mix, so I'll hold on to 'em untill Tuesday. Hope you two have fun, and don't spent too much on Karla."_

"Too late, Rasheed..." Karla thought with a chuckle as the next message played. "Saturday, 10:16 am. _Murdoc...Hello?...Rats. Anyway, it's Lieutenant Beckly. There's a case that has been bouncing around the beat here, and Sergeant Thompson and I thought you'd be interested. You don't have to take it right away, but let us know before the Fat Butt-ins of Instigation, or the F.B.I. as they prefer to be called, decide to take it from us instead. Enjoy your vacation and tell the little lady hello from the P.D."_

"I'll call them later tomorrow. And pretend you didn't hear that F.B.I. joke!" Murdoc said as he stepped out of his room wearing a pair a blue denim jeans amd a plain white tee. On the side of one of his belt loops was a deck box with Yu-Gi-Oh cards and slung over his shoulder was a blue backpack.

"Sunday, 12:21 pm._ Wudup, kid. It's Terry calling to let you know it's cool to use my scanner for your projection project...I'll be available all day today. Later."_ Karla looked behind her. "Is that whats in the bag?" Murdoc nodded. "Yep. Hmm...2:38, huh? Ok, I'm gonna grab some gas, run over to Terry's pad , and I'll be home before 7:30-8:00. I'll fix dinner." Karla crossed her arms playfully. "You'd better!" Murdoc bent over the chair and kissed Karla's forehead. "Promise. If you need anything..."

"I know, I know. Call your cell phone or Terry. Im not 11 or 12 anymore! I'll be fine, so stop playing the 'big brother' card!"

"*sigh*I know, but you're still my 'little sister' to me."

Karla looked up at Murdoc with a small smile."...Go on. Keep this up, and you'll be stuck in traffic, and my guest for the house party will show up before you leave..." Murdoc laughed as he walked out the door. "You're popular, but you ain't no celebrity!" As he made his way to his Ford GT, he placed his headset on his ear and dialed Terry's home. "So Edgar, how was your vacation?"

"Quite fun, but tiring as well. I had my hands full with a 19 year old anime fan girl!"

"Runs in the family, huh?"

"Har de har har, Marmo... Anyway, how was the karate class?" Terry sighed deeply on the other end of the line. "It wasn't so bad this time. Out of the 20 something students, only four had to really work on their technique, while two really stood out." Murdoc smirked, knowing which one of the two they really knew. "Alana was there, wasn't she?"

"...Yeah. We'll talk about that later." Murdoc kept that smirk on his face. "Sure, ok. I'm at the Shell station up the block. I'll be down at your door in less than 5 minutes." After filling up his tank, and grumbling about the high price of the gas in his neighborhood, he pulled in to Terry's driveway. Terry Marmo lived alone in a small house that would have been better of with a roommate, as it had two bedrooms, a main bathroom, and a guest restroom. Murdoc walked past Terry's midnight blue Eclipse in the usual spot in front of the garage door as he stepped up to the black gate. *knock, knock*

...No response. "Huh?" Murdoc thought. "Maybe I should knock louder...?"***KNOCK, KNOCK***

...Still nothing. Murdoc scratched his beard as he looked through the dark painted gate. To his right he saw Terry Marmo sitting in front of his computer with his studio headphones on. "Oh, great... He can't hear me...Huh?" Curiously, Murdoc turned the doorknob and found it unlocked. Opening the door and stepping inside, he found was a mistake, as his eyes saw something flying towards his face! "Whoa!" He moved back outside as he heard Terry's voice. "I **KNOW** your mother told you not to just walk into people's houses like that, right?"

Murdoc bent down and picked up the thrown set of keys as he walked back inside. "I could say the same about your door being unlocked, Ter." Turning around to face Murdoc, Terry raised an eyebrow. "I didn't leave the door unlocked, kid." Murdoc, in turn, raised his own. "You didn't? Well who..."

"Sorry, dawg. That was my fault." A new voice was heard as another person emerged from the kitchen. Holding a glass of ice water, stood Rasheed Wilton. Rasheed was a dark skinned male with an french braids. Murdoc and Terry glarred at their friend. "Rasheed, you left my door unlocked" Rasheed shrugged. "I went to the restroom, man.'

"So you left the door unlock?" Murdoc stated instead of asking. Rasheed slumped his shoulders. "You ain't gotta grill me, inspector Von Hunter..."

"Don't call me by my P.D. name, Rasheed!" Murdoc said tightening his fist. Terry turned his glare to Murdoc. "Hey, man. Calm down. Did you bring the cards to scan?" Murdoc reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop, card folder, a few cables, and a small round device with a lens in the center. "Yeah, all here." Rasheed sipped his water before talking. "Hey Doc, I've got the music you wanted to mix for your sister's birthday party. How is Karla anyway?" Murdoc finished hooking up his equipment to Terry's computer and scanner. "Oh, you know...The same as always. Playful and flirtatious, but has a good head on her shoulders like girls her age should. As for the music, I've gotta take a rain check. Promised Karla I'd be back before eight 'o clock. Only here to scan these cards."

"_Sorry to interrupt again, but who's Rasheed?" Emily asked while sitting on Murdoc's lap. Murdoc fixed his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Rasheed's my music partner and Terry's business advisor." Emily leaned on the table to look up at Murdoc. "But you and uncle Terry run your business' with ease, right?" Alana ran her blue nailed fingers through her short black hair. "True, but they weren't always like that, you know. Rasheed's computer and music knowledge had risen him from a small studio in his garage to a high-rise building where he produces and mixes for singers and rappers today. He had been in the business for a long time before the other two." _

"_He's true to his music, and is absolutely amazing with computers. That's what made him propel in the industry." Murdoc added. "Rasheed, Terry, and I were really close friends in high school and also took band class together. I was on the drums, Terry was on the trombone, and Rasheed was on the saxophone. Our teacher called us the "troublesome trio. But I digress, back to the story at hand, I was scanning the Yu-Gi-Oh cards and everything was going smoothly until..._

"Ok. Time for the Egyptian god cards. Obelisk the tormentor..."Terry looked at his monitor. "Scan is clear. I'm sending it to your laptop for digital projection." Murdoc typed in some figures before sending the image to his projection device. "Whoa! It's huge!" Rasheed said as he saw the 7 foot projection of the blue god card. "...Too small, but it works." Murdoc said, reaching for Slifer the Sky Dragon. Terry looked at his companion. "Too small, Doc? Aren't you asking for a bit too much?" Murdoc placed the red card in the scanner. "No. When you use the projection system, you expect the monsters to be life-like and life-size. That is an Egyptian god card, so..." He sent the image to Terry, who confirmed its picture quality before sending it back to Murdoc. Typing more figures into his laptop, he sent it to his projector. "...This is what it would look like when it is summoned to the field!" As he hit the enter key, Rasheed nearly spilt his water on the floor when he saw only a third of the divine dragon's tail, as the rest was cut off by the roof.

Terry pointed to the last card in the folder, The Winged Dragon of Ra. "One more, kid. Let's get it done." Murdoc pulled the card out of the sleeve and placed the golden card on the clear screen of the scanner. However, when the button was pressed, something strange happend. The entire system shut down. Scanner, moniter, laptop, and digital projector. Off. "Murdoc, what did you do?" Terry asked scornfully. "I pressed the scan button. Don't blame me for this!" Murdoc said in defense. Rasheed looked around the equipment. "No cords were burnt, and there isn't much voltage being bulled from this socket. Turn it back on, Terry." Doing as told, Terry powered up his PC. "It's starting normaly...What the heck...!" Rasheed said in shock. "Hey! What is this, the Matrix?" Murdoc exclaimed as Terry sat as still as stone. Their focus was glued to the monitor as the black screen began to drop foreign green symbols vertically at a steady pace. "H-Hey! It's on my laptop, too!" That was all Rasheed needed to hear, as he quickly pulled the plugs on both the PC and the laptop. "Ok, boys. It's time to play doctor on these computers. You did save you progress, right?" Terry and Murdoc nodded slowly before Rasheed placed the laptop on the couch and began to undo any attachments on Terry's PC before he would take it home. " Well, it's 7:47, and I did promise a young lady a nice dinner..." Murdoc said as he made his way to the door. Terry walked him to his car. "Alright, man. Drive safe and tell lil' bit hello for me." Murdoc nodded as he turned to Rasheed. " Hey, Ra! Let me know as soon as you find out what that was all about, ok?" And he drove off.

"Karla, I'm home!" Murdoc said in his normal tone. He looked around the house and didn't see or hear anything. Keeping a calm tone, he reached for his licensed gun, keeping it hidden at his side. "Karla?" He slowly made his way to his bedroom, he released the breath he had subconsciously was holding, as he saw his little sister curled up in a ball with her white pjs on, sound asleep. "Heh. 'Bout time." Was all he said as he tucked her in his blanket and left for the living room to read.

And as he left, her lips curved into a small smile.


	3. Briefing at Lunch

Chapter 3

"Hey, Dad!" Emily Hunter called from upstairs in her baby blue colored room. However, she never received a reply. "Ugh! Why is it so hard to get his attention?" Reluctantly moving from her comfort zone on her bed, Emily rushed her way down the stairs to see an elegantly dressed woman standing in front of her father, Murdoc. She had her long blond hair in a ponytail, which reached halfway past her shoulders, and moved side to side as she moved, completely into her conversation with Murdoc. She wore a long dark red dress, with a black mink scarf draped around her neck hanging over her slender body. Her hazel eyes matched her soft pale skin complexion, with a smile that would make others warm to her easier. Emily was so entranced by the mysterious visitor that she didn't hear her father calling her back to earth.

"Hey, Emily! Wake up, girl." Murdoc and the lady began to laugh, as the young teen blushed beet red. "Welcome back to the living, little Emily." The woman knelt down in front of the speechless child. "H-Hey! Who _**are**_ you!" Murdoc ruffled his flabbergasted daughter's hair. "This was the senior officer of the LAPD, Lona Tiana Beckly. She was a friend of your grand mother, Sonya. She would also give me jobs that her lazy subordinates couldn't do." Lona huffed and playfully slapped his arm. "That's not true! You were just a special case…." Emily, still stunned, walked over to her dad and wrapped her arms around his arm. "Dad? Who. Is. She?" And with each syllable she squeezed his arm as hard as possible. "Geez, Emily. She's not an ex girlfriend or anything close to that. It's like I said, she's a family friend."

At that moment, Emily's mother walked in with 3 bags of groceries. Seeing who was in the house, she dropped the groceries and rushed to the retired police chief. "LONA!" Lona's smile became wider, as she caught the wife of her friend and spun her around in a hug. "Now I see…. Your jealous, aren't you Emily?" Lona said as she released her mother from the hug. Emily only rolled her eyes. "No, I'm not! I still don't even know you, and your acting too nice…"

"She's jealous." Was the only response from her mother, who smiled at Emily. "Although I'm sure you love your daddy very much, he wont be able to do much of anything with only one arm." Lona said as she crossed her arms in a mock anger manner. Emily just noticed how much pressure she was applying to her father's left arm and quickly released her death grip. "Sorry dad." Murdoc rubbed his sore arm but smirked at his child. "It seems as thought Alana has been teaching you quite well on how to gather strength , huh?" Emily laughed, taking a fighting stance. "You've got no idea how much I've improved!" Murdoc nodded, as he took her hand. "You can show me later. Perhaps at Terry's tonight. But right now, your mother, Lona & I were going to do some catching up over some drinks. Care to join us?" Emily glared at Lona then back to Murdoc. "On one condition: I want to know how you two know each other."

"Well then, perhaps I can shed some light on that subject." The Hunter front door opened to reveal Katherine and Terry Marmo, Murdoc's sister and brother-in-law. Emily rushed over to her aunt and uncle. "HEY! I didn't know you two were coming over today. I have soooo much to tell you about what happened at school last week when uncle Terry come to pick me up….oh! And the cheerleader squad…" Terry laughed at his hyperactive niece. "Whoa, slow down there, young lady. One story at a time. What have you been feeding her to keep her sugar levels so high, Edgar?" Murdoc smirked at his long time friend. "Oh, the usual…a few spoonfuls of sugar…"

"Ugh! Don't even start, bro!" Karla huffed as she removed her black leather jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the front door. "Anyway, let me tell you about Lona Beckly. I'm sure your dad's already explained that she's a friend of the family, right?" Emily nodded. "Yeah, but that's all he said…." Terry shook his head. "Typical. Murdoc was always the shy one around women, so I still don't understand how he ended up with such a bombshell of a wife…" Karla flicked his ear…or tried to, as Terry grabbed her hand before it reached it's destination. "Not insulting anyone, mind you Karla. You should know that **I **know how you react to things. Back to Lona, as far as her job went, you could say she was a slave driver…"

"I was **NOT** a slave driver!" Lona said, exasperated on the assumptions made on her work life. "You would be correct in saying that I was extremely strict on the job, but laid back and quite normal when off the clock…But then again, with this group in front of me, I would be better in saying that I was more _**sane**_ than the rest of you, hmm?" Murdoc sighed. "Is it possible we could stay on topic, please. Anyway, my sister and I visited the office she worked for frequently, and as I mentioned before, I would receive work from Mrs. Beckly. Strict as she may have been, Karla was the only one who could get her to loosen up while on the job. She's still a Lieutenant by rank and is called that by all of her former employees. But since I'm wasn't really an officer of the LAPD, but the call-in guy that she brings in when the best in the beat can't solve a case, I was able to talk with her in-person without an appointment." Lona smile never left her face, as she looked to Emily. "Currently, I'm retired. I may be 51, I'm yet still very youthful. I still come over every so often to chat with your mom and dad over tea or coffee. Well, did that help you out, Emily?" Emily, although felt more comfortable around Lona now, still had her doubts. But she knew where to get her answers: the attic!

"Yes, that helps a little, but I need to finish some homework upstairs. I'm sorry for intruding." Emily's mother looked at her child. "We're going out for a while to eat an' chat. Did you want anything while we are out?" Emily smirked. "How about El Torito? The usual, ok?" Murdoc raised his eyebrows. " That's kinda far, isn't it? Sure you don't want anything else?" Karla elbowed her brother's side. "C'mon, bro. Let her have her burrito's or whatever. We have reservations to make. Besides, its not like you don't have the gas or money." Murdoc shrugged. "I know, but she normally…"

Lona shoved her former worker out the door. "Less talking, more eating, 'kay?" Emily laughed as she closed and locked the door behind her family. And with that, Emily made her way up the stairs and to attic. Looking around the somewhat less murky attic, she found the case with her father's journals. "Okay now, which book would have any information about Lona….XIIV, no….XVXI, not that one, either…..XXX, I don't think I even _**want to **_know…Ah-ha! Journal Get!' Emily sighed at the last expression that was said aloud. "I need to lay off the games a little more."

Journal XXVI Entry 4

It's the next day, and I decided to call the LAPD office and get a hold of Lt. Beckly. I also realized that Karla had woken up to get ready for her job as a waitress/hostess at Chili's. Those of you who have a sister, older or younger, know about the bathroom brawls and how long women take. Emily sighed at his father's notes. "_**Mommy hears that one, and you're on the couch for the night, Dad!**_"

"**KARRLAAA!** Hurry up in the bathroom, for peten's sake!" Murdoc yelled at the bathroom door to his sister Karla, who on the other side was taking her time and drying her long hair. "You should've woken up earlier, big brother!" She taunted while tying her hair into a bun behind her head. "Don't 'big brother' me! If I would have know you worked early today, Id've been up and outta here sooner. What is it you're really getting ready for in there? A beauty pageant? A date?"

Karla opened the door to reveal her red polo top and a pair of black Dickies pants. "If I was going on a date, I'd dress better, and I most certainly would **NOT** tell **YOU**!" Murdoc opened his mouth to protest but notice an open bathroom behind Karla. "We'll talk later..." was all he said as he rushed inside and closed the door. "So, what's the big rush for?" Karla asked while leaning on the hallway wall as she glossed her lips. "Remember the message that Lona left on Saturday? Well, I need to see what case is all about."

"You need to find out if you two will be dating more often." Karla chimed in, wearing a huge grin. Murdoc opened the door and glared at his sister. "It is **NOT** a date! We're only going to discuss business. She isn't my type anyway..." Karla crossed her arms. "*sigh*You say the same thing with every girl you've come across for the past few years! What's wrong with Ms. Beckly?" Turning back into the bathroom, Murdoc grabbed his hair brush and moved to the living room. "That's just it, Karla. She's Ms. Beckly to you and a friend of the family to me. She's a parental figure and a senior advisor." Karla lightly pulled Murdoc's trimmed beard. "Excuses, excuses. That's all I'm hearing. I have to get to work, so I'll get you two together some other time..."

"Or not! Go on, I'll see you later." Murdoc said as Karla left the house. Murdoc sighed deeply. _She's right, at least about being in a relationship..._ Murdoc thought as he connected his headset and began to call the office...but stopped. _Maybe..._ He scrolled through his contacts and stopped on 'Lona Beckly'. _I hope she's in the mood for Chili's..._

"Hello, this is Lona."

"Lona? Hey, there. It's Murdoc. I hope I didn't disturb you..." Murdoc said, his voice cracking from nervousness. Lona picked up on the tone of his voice. "...Karla playing matchmaker again?"

"...yeah. Listen, the reason I called was really about this case you mention on your message Saturday. We can talk about it over lunch."

"Sure. I can pay my way, of course. Where did you have in mind?"

"Chili's. The one Karla works at. You do remember where it is, right?" Murdoc asked while getting in his car. "Of course. Most of the rookies like to go there to get away from the office...and me. But them don't know that I know about their little hideaway." Lona replied. Murdoc laughed. "And they won't find out, either. Not from me anyway..."

Murdoc parked spot closest to the Chili's entrance, which luckily, wasn't crowded at this time. Walking inside, he pulled out a toothpick from his beige colored trench coat and stood in front of the Lobby podium to wait for service. "Hello, and welcome to Chili's...BROTHER!" Said the surprised hostess, Karla Hunter. "WHAT are you DOING here?" she whispered harshly at her elder brother. "Well, if that's how you greet people here, maybe I should take my business elsewhere..." Karla smeared at Murdoc, who smirked with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you dare..."

"Relax, sis. I wouldn't dare cause any problems here. By the way, I thought you were working the waitress gig today. What happened?"

"The one that was scheduled for today had an emergency, so I took over. So, here alone, or do you need a table for two?"

"Two, please." Murdoc said calmly. Looking around the restaurant, he found a spot where he felt comfortable. "Is that corner booth available?" Karla opened her mouth, but quickly closed it as she shook her head. "Sorry, bro. Those seats are reserved for couples only." Murdoc's eyes shot open. "Karla! You're still trying to set Lona and I up, aren't you?" Karla gasped in feint surprise. "No! Why, Murdoc! How dare you accuse me of such things?" Murdoc's shoulders slumped. "Oh, cut the crap, girl! Lona and I have no chance at a relationship. She's too old for me, and you know this! She use to baby-sit us, and that's when she first started the force. It wouldn't work!" Karla nodded, and smirked. "I know." was all she said. Murdoc looked at the expression on her face. "...She's behind me, huh?"

"Uh-huh." Was the tough as nails voice of Lona Beckly, who stared at Murdoc as he slowly turned around and saw the senior officer of the LAPD. She wore a sleeveless light purple top with a pearl bead necklace around her pale white neck. Her black hair was flowing elegantly at elbow length, and she had a gold chained watch on her left wrist. Lona had on a darker purple dress that reached just above her ankles, and her short heels were the same color as the top with a gold buckle accessory around the middle of the shoe. "Eight years older than you doesn't make me old, Murdoc!" Murdoc felt like he's was going to sink into the dark blue and red carpet...until a muffled chuckle made him glare at Karla. "Not.!" Karla composed herself and resumes the role of hostess. "Yes, well, right this way..." When Karla sat the two in a corner booth by the window, she gave them each a menu. "Anything to drink while you're waiting?" She asked, pulling out her tab book and a small pencil. "Hmm... I'll have an iced tea, please. Non-sweetened." Murdoc said before taking a glance at his menu. "I will have my tea hot, please. Do you have any honey?" Lona asked the young waitress, who nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I'll bring it along with your drinks." And with a small bow to Lona, and blowing a raspberry to Murdoc, Karla walked back to the kitchen to place their drink orders.

"Murdoc, I don't see how you really don't like sugar in your tea. It really does enhance the flavor." Lona said, her reddish brown eyes looking into his dark brown ones. "I've mentioned it before, Lona. It gives me headaches if it is over-sweetened. I just prefer to have my tea without sugar. Now, what's this case you've been saving for me?" Murdoc said setting down his menu to give his dining buddy his undivided attention.

"...It's a missing person's case, Murdoc. Two female, one male. Each had a last known point, but our best forensics cannot find a clue as to how they vanished..." Lona said lost in thought. Murdoc looked and listened with concern. "Ms. Beckly..."

"You haven't called me that since you were 19, Murdoc. What's on your mind?" Lona slid her menu over to her left.

"...Have you found anything out yet? About mom?"

"...No. I'm sorry, Murdoc, but there hasn't been anything to go on since her disappearance over ten years ago. It's harsh, but..."

"It's alright, Ms. Beckly. I need to here everything you find, even if it isn't anything..." Lona reached to her side and sat a portfolio of papers on the table and slid it over to Murdoc. "Actually, the cases that I want you to look at, they're very similar to the one you filed on your mother, Sonya."

"How so?" Murdoc raised his eyebrows as Karla arrived with their drinks. "What does this have to do with mommy?" Murdoc glared at sis sister. "Calm yourself, young lady! There is no need for an outburst, especially on the job. Be professional." Lona combed her fingers through her hair. She loved Karla the same way she loved Murdoc. As family. And she hated to see her heartbroken face when she hears any bad news about her mother. But she still had to keep her game face on for Murdoc, as she still had more information to give. "The victims of the case all vanished without a trace. There was nothing saying that they would've committed suicide, nor any proof of any foul play. I'd mention more, but there are too many ears, you know..." Murdoc slowly nodded, as Karla only stood there. "...Take the case, bro."

"Excuse me, Karla?" Murdoc turned back to Karla. She sat the two drinks down on the table. "This is the closest lead you've got right now. Please, take the case!" Murdoc looked into his sister's pleading hazel eyes and took a deep breath. "...I'll look them over, Lona. If you don't hear from me about them in a week, to pick them up. Think you can hold off the F.B.I. for a while?" Lona gave him a soft smile. "For your help, I'll send them on a wild chase in Timbuktu! Now, young Karla, I believe we are ready to order now." Karla smile. "Sure, ma'am. What would you like?"

* * * * * * **AFTER LUNCH** * * * * *

"Wow, Lona! I didn't know you could put it away like THAT!" Murdoc smirked as he picked his teeth with a toothpick. Lona laughed. "Look who's talking, Mr. 'I'm gonna have two big burritos the size of the plate and the width of their arm'! " Murdoc joined in on the laughing as well. After staying to talk a little more, Murdoc reached into his wallet and left a tip on the table. Then as they walked over to the lobby, he pulled out his card. "Murdoc, I told you that I could pay for what I bought. You don't..."

"...Just think of this as a date, Lona. I'll get back with you about these." He said, waving the folders at Lona while walking to his car leaving her stunned before she smiled and walked outside to her own car. Meanwhile, Karla returned to the table to find an $80 tip waiting for her. "Hee. Glad you enjoyed yourselves, too, big bro." She placed the money in her apron and proceeded to clean the table, whistling the tune to "Legend of Zelda".


	4. A Familiar Scan

-1_**Hi. It's me again, Emily Hunter, here to bring you another entry of my father's journals of his crossover trip. Things started off rather slow, but this chapter will set things in motion, that much I guarantee.**_

**A Familiar Scan**

Journal XXVI Entry 9

Its Friday, and I'm here at home with Rasheed Watters and Terry Marmo. We're setting up the house for my younger sister, Karla's, birthday party. She'll be twenty years old, and I've planned out how the day would go.....

"Ok, Rasheed. The turntables are set up and it should be connected to my laptop." Murdoc said, stepping away from the DJ booth that was placed in the living room. Terry walked in carrying a large woofer and sat it next to the booth. "Yo Ra. Is it cool right here?" Rasheed nodded and reached into a large blue case and pulled out a tangled bunch of cables. "Yeah, that's fine for now. But don't plug anything in until I finish the main set ups." Rasheed said, almost getting entangled within his own cords. Murdoc walked over to Terry. "Is she coming? You know Karla is looking forward to the day she can hang out with her again." Terry nodded without turning to face Murdoc. "Alana will be here. She thinks of Karla as the little sister she never had."

_**Ok, everyone. I'll explain who Alana is. Alana Salazar is a student at the dojo that **__**Karla**__** visits. **__**Terry**__** ,**__**who also knows some forms of martial arts, **__**was dragged **__**in, **__**because of Karla's "persuasion", (**__**reluctantly)**____**to**__** be a **__**tutor.**__** What she looks like? Well, picture a 23 year old perfect body model with brown skin and shimmering long black hair. Yet for some reason, Terry and Murdoc had no interest in dating her. Karla, on the other hand, tried to do everything in her power to hook Terry with Alana.... Sorry, off topic.**_

_**Alana decided to take a form of martial arts to help protected herself, as well as her mother, who was a victim of spousal abuse. It tore Alana apart the day her mother passed, and she used karate to vent her anger and pain. Terry, Murdoc and Karla pass by the dojo everyday, but when Karla saw her form and how she was using anger to fight her bouts, she actually walked inside and gave her tips on control, which lead her to want more advice from him. Thanks (or no thanks) to Karla, Terry showed up there every Wednesday and Friday. Because of that meeting, Karla and Alana hung out together and have a close relationship. Presently, I train under Alana, but she's REALLY strict....**_

The doorbell rang, and Resheed answered it. "Hello? Is this 361 Miller Lane, apartment 3?" A female voice was heard through the black door. "Hey Alana. Guess you made it, huh?" Terry said as he casually walked to the door as Alana walked inside. "Of course I did! I wouldn't miss that sassy little girl's birthday even if ya paid me!" Alana said, waving at Terry and Rasheed. Alana wore a deep blue shortcut top with a matching blue mini skirt. Rasheed's mouth was wide open as she walked by, which was closed shut by Alana, who giggled lightly at the reaction she was getting. "Down, boy. Try not to drool!" She tuned to Murdoc and gave him a small smile as she handed him a medium box covered with white wrapping paper. "Hey, Von."

"Don't...*sigh* call me that." Murdoc said slightly annoyed at the use of his P.D. assigned name.

"Sure, Von."

"Don't-Call me- THAT!"

"Where's Lil' Karlie?"

"She's at work. I had called the job ahead of time, told them to stall for time while we got the house ready for this special event." Murdoc replied, crossing his arms confidently. Rasheed, Terry, and Alana nodded.

"Not bad."

"....impressive..."

"Ingenious."

"I know...." Murdoc said with a smirk. "Hmm? Hold on a sec, guys. It's my phone." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small brown cell phone, which was playing the Final Fantasy VII Victory theme. "Hello?....Ahh, yes, boss. We're all here....No, Karla isn't here yet. Still on the job. She'll be off in about an hour....Sure. See ya in a few, Lona." Alana raised her eyebrows. "Whoa! Your boss is coming, too!?" Murdoc nodded. "Yes. I have a **platonic** relationship with my boss. How about you, Alana?" Alana's face flushed. "W-What are you implying about Terry and I?!" Murdoc smirked. "I never said anything about Ter, Alana." That comment only made Alana flush even more. Terry, on the other hand, stood facing the window as if he didn't here their little argument. "Murdoc, let's not start that again, ok?" He said, never turning to face the group. Murdoc nodded. "Ok, ok. I'm sorry I started it."

Interrupting them, the doorbell echoed in it's box. "Ah, that must be Lona. I'll get the door." Murdoc said walking to the front gate. As he opened the door, he bowed politely to Lona Beckly, who stepped inside. In one hand was a large duffel bag, and in the other, a folder in the remaining free hand. "Lona, this is Rasheed Watters and Alana Salazar." Murdoc introduced his two friends to his boss, as Rasheed shook her hand and Alana waved daintily. "You already know Terry." Terry nodded his head, acknowledging Lona. "Hello, . How are you?" Lona stepped up to Murdoc and held out the duffel bag. "These are some of the gifts that Karla wanted. I'd have come sooner but traffic is crazy over here." Murdoc smiled as he took the duffel bag from his boss. "Welcome to this part of the neighborhood, Lona." As he placed the bag with the other gifts that his sister would be receiving, he glanced at the wall clock. "Ok people, she'll be home any minute now. Go hide in the guest bedroom and stay quiet." Murdoc and Rasheed made there way to the DJ booth while Terry continued to sit there.

"What are you doing, Terry?" Rasheed asked. "I'm relaxing, kid. You're stressing to much." Terry replied while placing his black shades from his and wiped them clean before pleasing them back on his face. At that very moment, Karla had made her way to the front door. "Hey!! C'mon, guys! My hands are full." Terry, Rasheed and Murdoc turned to the front door. "He-llo?! A little help here!" Terry stood up and walked slowly to the door, squinting as he looked through the gate. "Um, may I help you, young lady?" Karla huffed aloud. "Ter-ry!! It's me, Karla. Open-the-door!!"

"Do you live here?"

"Ugh! **TERRY!!!**" Terry's laughter was followed in suite by Rasheed and Murdoc, as they opened the door and helped her with her bags. "Hey there, little lady. How was work?" Karla closed and locked the doors as she plopped down on the couch. "Terry, you don't wanna know…"

"Well, we do." A calm voice came from the hall, catching Karla's attention. "*gasp* Lona! Alana!" Was Karla's reaction as she stepped back in surprise against her brother. "Surprise, girlie! Happy birthday!" The cheerful Alana said. "I figured you'd enjoy their company today, so I pulled a few strings…" Murdoc said holding his sister's shoulders gently. Karla turned around and looked him in the eyes. "You sly dog! Is that why my boss…" Murdoc and the rest nodded. "Yup. It had to be done in order for us to get things ready over here." Karla smile and stood on her toes. "Aww…thanks, bro." She kissed his cheek before going to see her guest. "I'm surprised you came, Ms. Beckley." She said giving the elder woman a hug. "Of course I would, Karla. You and Murdoc are like my family, and the boys in blue at the office certainly like to see your face."

Alana placed her hands on her hips. "Girl, you are growin'! Keep this up and you'll be as tall as me…maybe!" Karla measured herself between Alana and Lona. "Yeah, maybe. I'm 20, so I still have time to catch up to you and Murdoc." Alana crossed her arms as she gave Karla a glare. "You got a boyfriend yet?" Karla laughed. "No, not yet at least. I haven't found anyone that shares a common interest with me."

"Thank God, too!" Murdoc said in disgust, his eyebrows lowered at Alana's question. "Murdoc, is there a problem?" Lona asked her semi-employee. "Karla doesn't need a boyfriend right now. She doesn't need a boyfriend **ever**!" Murdoc mumbled. Rasheed rolled his eyes at Murdoc. "C'mon, man! She's 20 years old. Let her get out and live a little."

"Please! Do you know what it was like when she was 11?! She got her first bra at 11!! **11!!**"

Lona sigh deeply. "Murdoc. That is how young women grow up. I had mine at 12." Alana nodded. "I had one at 11, too. Why are you so stressed?" Murdoc tilted his head to the side. "…She's growing up too fast for me. I honestly believe that women should get breast at 21."

Alana raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?" Murdoc crossed his arms. "Yeah. You know, 'Happy Birthday'…Poof! There they are."

Karla sighed. "Murdoc…" Terry, deciding to lighten the mood, walked over to Karla and picked her up and carried her in his arms to the presents at the DJ booth. "Perhaps we can get to the fun part of this day, hmm?" Karla blushed and laughed. "Sounds good to me!" Murdoc, Alana and Lona stood there smiling, as Rasheed moved back to the DJ station to change the track.

****************After The Party************

Terry sat with his head leaned back against the brown pillow. "I think we did well. Did you enjoy yourself, Karla?" Karla was standing I front of the hallway door, where a full size mirror was attached. Looking at her newest outfit bought by Lona Beckley. A deep blue jean vest and matching jean pants that hugged her body. She also wore a short sleeve pink top, with her long golden brown hair in a ponytail kept in place by a pink hair ring. "I absolutely loved it, Ter. Thank you guys sooo much!" She said as she turned her back to the mirror and looked at her back to see the vest's design which said: "For your eyes only!!" She then lowered her eyes and looked at her rear end to see how the jeans looked before she noticed another pair of legs standing behind her. Jerking her head forward, she saw Murdoc standing there with his arms crossed. "You better be looking for the _**price tag**_**!!**" Karla groan, as her brother made his way back to his PC. "Ugh! Stop being so traditional, big Bro'!"This is the look for females my age" Terry raised his head, twirling his trademark black shades between his fingers. "You need to let Karla be Karla. She's 20 years old now, so she is going to act like one." Murdoc sighed as he sat his YuGiOh cards on the edge of his computer desk. "…I know. It's just-She's growing up so fast and I'm starting to miss the little 9 and 10 year old that would always want to ride on my back after school. I feel like I'm losing her…"

"Murdoc. You're my Big Bro'. That's never gonna change." Karla said, standing behind Murdoc's chair. Then with an mischievous gleam in her eyes, she snatched his glasses off of his face. "I'll nag and annoy you till the day you die!!" She said as she ran to her room, with Murdoc close behind, giving chase. "Give those back, you twerp!" However, when he leapt out of his chair, his elbow knocked over his stack of cards, landing all over his accessories. But one card in particular happened to fall face down on the open scanner: The Winged Dragon of Ra. Suddenly, the PC was booted up and began to function on it's own. Terry noticed the slight hum of the unit and called Murdoc. "Yo, kid! Did you turn on your computer?" Murdoc walked in, with Karla struggling to get out of a headlock. "No. Why?" Karla finally managed to squeeze her way out of her brother's grip, as she looked to the PC, which was working away. "Bro, it's on. And it's scanning something!" Murrdoc and Terry looked at the scanner to see a very familiar sight. The Egyptian god card was in the process of being scanned, as Murdoc freaked. "Stop that scanner!!!" All three rushed to the PC…but they never made it.

Murdoc's leap for the computer missed, but ran into something much softer. "Ack!!"

"Oof!!"

Terry opened his eyes and picked himself off the ground… "_Wait… Why am outside_?" Terry thought as Murdoc was kneeling over someone he didn't recognize. "Hey ,kid. You alright?" He asked while walking over to his distraught friend. But when he saw who Murdoc was kneeling over, Terry realized _why_ he was so out of it. He had to put on his shades to cover up his own surprise. "_You've got to be _**kidding **_me_**!!**" Murdoc's eye's were wide open, as well as his mouth. "…Are you real?" Murdoc asked, through his shock. The mysterious figure finally rose and offered a white gloved hand. "Of course I'm real. You **DID** tackle me to the ground." Murdoc slowly reached out and grabbed the dainty hand and realized that it was his glasses that was being handed back to him as well. Murdoc stood up, placed his eyewear on, and looked into the brown eyes of a rather tall female rabbit! She stood about 5 ½ feet tall, with cream colored fir, and ears that reached pasted her shoulders. She wore a long purple dress that was a few inches above her red high heels, almost looking like royalty. Yet even after being roughly tackled by Murdoc, she still had a smile on her face. "Um, I'm really sorry, miss…"

"Rabbit. Vanilla Rabbit. It's quite alright." Vanilla answered the nervous Murdoc. Terry steeled his face and stepped to the rabbit named Vanilla. "Miss Rabbit, you think you could tell us where we are?"

Vanilla nodded as she looked at him. "Sure, but it should be obvious if you look around. This is Mario Central, also known as Mario Land in certain dimensions."


	5. Recollection & Trust Pt1

**Recollection & Trust Pt.1**

_Wha-Where am I?…_

_It seems as though you forgot your priorities…_

_What is this place?_

_If you ever need help, just press this button…_

_You better win this or I'll come down there and do it myself!_

_How can you act so normally in such abnormal place!?_

_How dare you! I needed to win this!_

_**WHERE'S MY SISTER!?**_

"Ahh!" Emily Hunter woke up from her bed with a start, tossing her sheets along with her pillow and other various objects off the bed. As the early teen slowly looked around her baby blue painted room, she wiped the beads of sweat that was forming on her forehead and looked at a dimly light pink laptop monitor. "Ah, geez. I forgot to turn off the laptop again. Why'd I leave it on anyway?" Emily said as she slowly slid off her bed and retrieved her scattered bedding from the floor. Moving closer to the computer, she noticed that she had been doing her homework, chatting online with a friend and research on dimensions, namely parallel dimensions. rubbing her eyes to wake up, she looked at the time…

"2:36 am!? Why does my stupid brain decide to wanna work when I'm tired and take a break when I need to work at school!?" She mumbled sleepily, sitting down at her desk t read some more. "Well, at least it's Sunday. Now let's see what I was doing here…" Bringing up her web browser and clicking the tab labeled "**Principles of Time and Dimensional Travel**", slowly pouring through as much as she could understand before she was interrupted by a notification sound coming from her chat box.

_PDChfGurl4 has logged in._

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Emi!? Wat u stll doin up dis hour?_

Emily glanced at the message, gathering her thoughts before replying back.

_**SilentOtakura**__: Relax…is what __**I**__ should be saying to myself. I just woke up and I can't get back _

_sleep. So here I am…_

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Oh. didn't sleep with Tails again, huh?_

Emily turned completely red in the face as her chat buddy brought up a sensitive subject about her stuffed Miles "Tails" Prower that she kept close by her since she was a baby.

_**SilentOtakura: **__Shuddup!_

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: I keed, I keed. So, really why are you awake now? Weird dream? Nightmare? _

_Wet Dream? ^.^_

_**SilentOtakura**__: …I'm disconnecting now…_

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: NO! Seriously, I usually stay up late anyway, so go on and tell me. I won't tell_

_anyone at school._

_**SilentOtakura**__: I know, Jen. I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell a soul. No matter _

_what! I'm serious about this._

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Don't worry. So, give me all the juicy details!_

_**SilentOtakura**__: Well…Have you ever wonder if the world we live in is the only one that exist?_

_I don't just mean, like, Earth, but other dimensions?_

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Are you serious? No, not really, but I do know that there are spirits and stuff like _

_that. Are you talking about the supernatural?_

_**SilentOtakura**__: No. I mean a whole new world that separates earth from another planet closely_

_resembling it, but in an alternate reality, or a parallel universe, or anything like_

_that…No, never mind. I'm rambling about absurd things…_

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: No, no. It's ok. I may not have heard or seen such things, but it's been talk about_

_all over the place. Wait…Did you find something, Emi? That is so awesome!_

_**SilentOtakura**__: It's better I tell you I person. Can you come over today? I can show you what I_

_mean and then I won't feel so crazy._

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Yeah. It is Sunday, so getting over there shouldn't be a problem. I thing mom_

_wanted to talk to your dad anyway._

_**SilentOtakura**__: Really? That's cool. I haven't seen Miss Beckly in a while. I'm staring to get_

_sleepy now. See ya' later, Jenny._

_**PDChfzGurl4**__: Sure. Don't forget "your Miles" lol_

_**SilentOtakura**__: SHUT UP! Lol_

_PDChfzGurl4 has logged out._

Emily closed the chat box and minimized her web browser before setting her laptop into hibernation mode and stretching her arms. "Ahh. I do hope I'm making the right choice in telling Jen. I mean, I know she'll keep it a secret, but it'll be a lot to explain…"

"Explain what, dear?" came the tired voice of her father, Murdoc Hunter, from her door. Emily slightly jumped, dropping her blanket back on the floor. "Shouldn't you be in bed right now, Emi? It's going on 4 o'clock." Emily looked up at her dad, who almost resembled Brock from Pokemon due to his wild bed hair and barely open eyes. "I had something on my mind, and I ended up waking up much earlier than planned. I was just chatting online with Jennifer about what I was going through." Murdoc scratched his head through his messy hair, trying to focus his eyes on his constantly moving daughter. "Well, you can talk to me about it, you know? Was it a weird dream…?

"No! It wasn't a weird dream or a nightmare or a wet dream, okay!?" Emily scowled with her fist held tightly at her side, dropping her blanket once again. Murdoc, however, had an extremely bewildered look on his face. "Where did you…" Emily only sighed as she sat down on top of the blanket, knowing it would not reach the bed anytime soon. "Nothing, dad. I got that reaction from Jenny when I told her that couldn't sleep. Don't worry about it." Murdoc gave Emily a lopsided grin. "She must get it from her mother, Lona…Anyway, what is it that's keeping you awake?" Emily returned the grin. "…You?" Murdoc rolled his eyes as he lightly flicked her forehead. "Ha ha, that's a good one. I'll let you get back to sleep, but know you can talk to me about anything, right?" As Murdoc stood up, he picked Emily up and sat her on the bed. "It's kinda personal. You know, a girl thing?" Murdoc scoffed, picking up her blanket. "Come on! Who was taking care of you when your mother was working out of town when you were 6?" Emily giggled. "Auntie Karla?" Murdoc tilted his head in thought. "Hmm. Ok, well what about when you started cheerleading at 9?" Emily couldn't hold back her laughter. "Auntie Karla and Uncle Terry?" Murdoc gave an exasperated sigh as he gently cover his smarty pants child with the blanket. "Who gave you that Tails doll you cling on so tightly to when you were 7?" Emily blushed redder than a tomato. "Tha-That doesn't count!" Murdoc smiled and pointed to her right side. "Really? I would say Tails thinks otherwise. Besides, I need _some_ credibility as your dad, right?"

Emily took the blanket and covered her face to hide her embarrassment, but pulled her stuffed toy closer to her. "Mou, stop embarrassing me, dad!" She said, still giggling under the warmth of her blanket. "Alright, well get some kind of sleep. Lona's coming over today and I have a manuscript to deal with before the end of the day, so it…."

Not long before he could finish his sentence, both were startled by the sound of the "Nyan Cat" ringtone coming from the master bedroom before being promptly turned off. Emily looked up to see her mother dragging her feet slowly past her husband to get to the restroom. Her soft white nightgown that reached to her ankles and her closed eyes almost made her look like a ghost that haunted the Hunter household. If not for her long, soft black hair, Murdoc would've passed out. "Good morning, dear!" Murdoc said before his wife reached the bathroom, only to be answered by mumble, groans and a yawn before the click of the door lock.

Emily and her father could not stop laughing.

The Hunter family sat at the breakfast table, all doing something different but still engaged in conversation. "…And I still don't know why it stank so bad." Murdoc said across the table to his wife while reading the newspaper, as she herself was drinking a cup of coffee. "True, but for some reason, they say leaving curry out overnight will make it better. But I'm sure you know firsthand that it's just speculation…Ugh! I just realized that I've become like my dad." Emily looked up from her bowl of cereal after sending a text on her iPhone. "What do you mean, mom?" Sighing, she snatched her daughter's device and lightly tossed it on the couch as not to break it. "I _told_ you _no_ electronics at the breakfast table!" Emily closed her eyes as she spooned another helping of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "You said dinner table two weeks ago…ahh…" She and Murdoc flinched as the elder woman's coffee cup came slamming down on the table with a loud bang. Surprisingly, none of the contents spilled out. "Are you giving me lip, young lady? Because you know I have no qualms about beating the…."

"HADOUKEN!"

The sound of Murdoc's cell phone screamed repeatedly as it received a call. Unfortunately, with the current situation, he refused to answer the call. "What's the matter, dear? Aren't you going to answer that?" His wife gave him a smile that would kill any lesser man…which sadly included him as well. "No, no. I'm good. It probably wasn't too important anyway…See? It stopped rin…

"HADOUKEN!"

Murdoc's eyes bulged as his phone obviously wanted him to die…

"Hey! Is anyone going to answer the door or what!?"

All heads turned to the front door and Emily quickly jumped up from her chair to answer it. Her mother, however, had other plans. "Oh, no you don't, young lady. Stay seated. I will answer the door." She walked over to the door as Murdoc looked at his phone to see that it was Lona who had been calling. "So, please tell me why it is so hard for anyone in this house to answer their phone? Emily was the only one who responded to a text from Jennifer. What kind of example are you two setting?" Emily looked at her mother and stuck her tongue out at her, but was grabbed by he father and pulled lightly. "That doesn't excuse you from form sharp mouth, Emi!" Jennifer Beckly narrowed her eyes and sneered at Emily. "Ohhhh! Has perfect little Emi messed up _again_? Am I interrupting some family affair?" Emily forced her tongue free from her father's grip and scowled at Jennifer. "That's not funny, Jen! It's not that big of a deal, anyway." Lona lightly slapped the back of her daughter's head. "That's not something you joke about, Jennifer." Jennifer shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'm sorry, Emi. So, let's go upstairs. I wanna hear what you was bothering you earlier today…" Murdoc watched with his mouth agape as Emily rushed to her room with Jennifer. "Really? She can tell anyone else but her father. Where is the rulebook for raising daughters, 'cause I show as heck need one now…" Lona laughed as she sat her purse down on the kitchen table, reaching for a small notebook inside. "Ohh, let it go, Murdoc. They're in their teens, so those two won't be telling us adults _anything_. Besides, I need to talk with you two about something anyway, and its best they didn't hear our discussion…"


	6. Recollection & Trust Pt2

**Recollection & Trust Pt. 2**

Lona Beckly sat in front of Murdoc Hunter and his wife in their home. She pulled a small notebook from her purse, along with a pen and rested her elbows against the table, but a harsh look from the other lady and a slow shake of Murdoc's head made her instead just lean back against her chair. "Murdoc, I must ask you. Do you remember how you and your wife met? I never really knew about it." Murdoc pulled a toothpick from a small container on the dining table and began to chew on it. "Well, if I remember correctly, we met many times before we had a true introduction. Am I right, dear?" Murdoc's spouse draped her arms around her husband's neck, laughing from Murdoc's jittering reaction as he remembered what their last conversation led to. "Relax, baby. I won't choke you out. You were right. We ran into each other so many times, I thought you were stalking me…Wait. You weren't _stalking_ me, were you?" Lona shook her head, knowing where this was going. "Mm-hmm…What! No! I thought you were tracking _me_!" Murdoc said in his own defense.

"We basically ran into each other on every corner of that freakin' island!"

"You_** knew**_ every nook and cranny of a place that I didn't know left or right of!"

"You're a private investigator! How hard would it be for you to understand the island's layout!?"

"It's an island the size of _**Asia**_, woman! I was good, but not _that_ good!"

"So you're saying that _every time_ was a _coincidence, _Murdoc!?"

"I certainly didn't _plan_ it, Mizuki!"

"Ok. Whoa, whoa. Let's stop now, children." Lona said, wrapping her arms around her two friend's necks. "How about you tell me exactly how you two met?" She then guided them back to the notebook she laid on the table. "Then we write down what you two agree on and call it as truth, hmm? Now, Murdoc. I know that you have written journals about your travels, but it's only your perspective. Let's have her thoughts as well, okay?" Murdoc nodded and sat down, slapping his wife's rear end. "AHH-What was that for!?" Murdoc smirked. "Punishment for arguing with me. That, and you've got a nice butt." The silver haired wife giggled a bit, but quickly regained her composure. "So I've heard from your employees. But don't worry, it's all yours, Edgar." Lona rolled her eyes. "Please. Our children are upstairs, not too far from us. At least the romance is still there…Wait. Mizuki…hmm…what's with _that_ name?" Brushing a few strands of hair from her slender shoulders, Murdoc's wife removed the dishes from the table from their breakfast. "Oh, Mizuki? It's Japanese for 'Beautiful Moon'. It also stuck with me because people say my hair is the color of a full moon. Why do you ask?" Lona looked through her little black book and sighed. "No apparent reason, really. I was just curious, as I haven't heard _that _one before. I've heard Robbins, Silver, Tracy, Guita…I won't even _ask_ where _that_ name came from…" Murdoc and Mizuki only laughed at their friend's frustration. "Lona, I thought information was your game, so I figured you'd have fun figuring out her name." Murdoc said, removing the now chewed toothpick from his mouth and flicking it into the trash can across the table. Mizuki looked at the trash bin, then back at her husband. "That was pure luck…Anyway, I myself am not really surprised. Not many people know what Mizuki means, but continue to use it anyway." She returned to the table with a tray containing 3 tea cups and a white teapot to match.

"Sorry, I was ill-informed. Besides that, how many years have you been dodging the subject of your _name_!?" Lona said to Mizuki, who only winked while pouring each of them a cup of a red colored tea. "Oh, come now. Every girl is allowed their secrets, right? This one just involves my name. The exception with Terry and Katherine is that they were with Murdoc when everything happened." Lona sipped her tea before responding. "That's fine, but why? Embarrassing childhood stories? No?" Mizuki shook her head, smiling. "Nope. Besides, with where _**I**_ come from I can't exactly blend in if my name is public knowledge, get my drift?" Lona added a few cubes of sugar before taking another sip of her tea. "Okay, fine. But how about you explain how you ended up dating someone with such an eccentric behavior pattern? I just want to know what you saw in him." Murdoc, who nearly choked on his own cup of tea, opened his mouth to object, but was closed by a small kiss from Mizuki. "Perhaps I should ask you the same question, Lona. What did _you_ see in Murdoc? I heard from Karla that she tried to pair you two frequently, but failed. Who turned who down in that situation?" Lona shrugged. "Guilty as charged. Mostly it was Murdoc himself that deflected Karla's planned attacks, but I did wonder how a relationship would have been with him. I still do, after seeing him as a father and husband. He's become quite the catch." Murdoc's face turned a darker shade as he couldn't contain his embarrassment. Mizuki smirked. "Yes, he's definitely the pick of the litter. Despite his wild and childish personality, he certainly knows how to treat a lady." Murdoc hid his face behind his hands as the ladies in the room laughed from his embarrassed state. "*cough* Um, yeah. You can thank my mom for teaching me proper etiquette. But can we return to the _original_ topic, please?" Lona and Mizuki's fits of laughter finally diminished as the ex-cop returned to her notebook and cup of tea. "I'm sorry Murdoc. Please, go ahead." Murdoc scratched his trimmed beard as he collected his thoughts. "Lona, you wanted to know how Mizuki and I met, right? You do at least remember the whole dimension hopping incidents, right?" Lona reached for the glass jar of honey to sweeten her tea even more, getting a weird stare from her male friend. "Of course. That's the only thing I know about when it comes to you two. I really don't like to be left out of the loop here. Especially about a particular person's name…" Murdoc smiled his trademark grin, while pouring a second cup, while Mizuki's face flushed red. "Don't worry, Ms. Beckly. You'll eventually find out as you gain more information. Don't want to spoil the story, now would we?" Lona nodded. "That's true. I love my detailed information, Murdoc. You know this." Murdoc sipped his tea, "Yep. And it's because of how complicated our meeting was, it would be better if I started from when Terry and I met those familiar but unusual faces…"

***************************Mario Central: Outer Shore******************************

Murdoc and Terry both stared at the anthropomorphic female rabbit in front of them, as the rabbit known as Vanilla stared looked back at them with a calm smile. They stayed that way for about 3 minutes before Vanilla brushed her lop sided ear nervously. "Excuse me, but it's rude to stare. Is there anything you need, or shall I leave you two alone?" Terry sighed, moving between the two. "Look, we just met and all, and I do apologize about rushing into you like we did, but we do need to be going." As Terry began to push his friend away from the tall rabbit, Murdoc stopped him with a stare that Terry never saw before on his face: fear. When Murdoc was sure that the two were a good distance away from any ears, he pulled on Terry's coat.

"Terry? **Where's my sister!?**" He whispered frantically to Terry, who began to look around the area nervously as well. "Wasn't she with us, kid? I thought she ran to the computer with us." Murdoc slowly began to lose his composure. "But she _isn't_ here _now_! Where is she!?"

"Where is who?" Murdoc and Terry jumped backing surprise, as Vanilla was leaning forward into their little huddle. Terry frowned at the smiling rabbit. "OK, how in the heck did you get here so fast!? And how did I _not_ notice you approach us?" Vanilla looked at Murdoc, completely ignoring Terry, and handed him a stack of YuGiOh cards. "These are yours, I presume? They were scatter all across the sand when you bumped into…"

"Excuse me!"

All three were interrupted by a young security officer in a small cart. As he drove next to them, he waved his baton in a threatening manner. "This area is for authorized personnel only! How did you get here!?" Before the two males could say anything, Vanilla pulled a small blue badge from her side. "I am authorized, sir. I'm a staff member personally assigned by Mr. Mario himself." As the guard looked at the badge, he stiffened completely and bowed numerous times apologetically. "Ahh, I'm sorry Miss Rabbit. I'm a volunteer worker, so I didn't know…Wait. That doesn't excuse those two. Unless they are in the tournament, they must leave and enter through the main entrance." Vanilla pointed at Murdoc. "But he is. I was showing him the way to the prepping area." The guard huffed, looking at Murdoc with an aggravated look. "I'm sorry, Miss Rabbit, but even if you say that, I still need some kind of proof that he's a competing duelist. Even if he has a deck of cards, it won't prove anything! Anybody could sneak in here if that was the case, and if I wasn't on patrol…"

Terry grunted, growing more irritated by the second. "Does this guy ever shut up!?" Murdoc only sighed. "Apparently not, but Karla could be inside these gates, and if we get kicked out on a technicality, we'll never know. My suggestion is that we just play along and see how far we can get."

"And I suggest you grow a brain! There is no way I'm going to follow a giant mutant rabbit around blindly!" Terry said back to his friend. "I know you want to find your sister, but this is the wrong way to do it." Murdoc closed his eyes for a second, then opened them again with resolve. "I always have a plan, Terry. You shouldn't follow that rabbit blindly." Terry nodded. "Damn straight we shouldn't." Murdoc looked at the cards in his hands. "Right. _**I**_ will follow her around blindly. I need you to look for Katherine wherever you can while I send out a signal for her." Terry was ten seconds to knocking his close friend on his face. "What the crap are you smoking, kid!?" Murdoc rolled his eyes at Terry. "I don't smoke. You know this, dood." Terry grimaced. "Maybe you should start, then."

"That's not a very healthy habit, sir."

Both nearly passed out as they turned to see Vanilla once again looking at them with the very same smile on her face. "Please. _Please_, stop doing that!" Terry said as he began to lose his composure. "I have to agree. That is rather nerve rattling," Murdoc said, breathing hard and clutching his chest. Before Vanilla had time to reply, the guard approached the trio with a gruff expression plastered on his face. "Miss Rabbit! If he has lost his entry pass, he will need to go back out and to the front gate to re-register himself. But when he does, he'll need some sort of ID to prove he is who he says he is, otherwise it'll be a waste of time. And there isn't much time left, either if…" As the young officer continued his rant, Murdoc began thinking. _Okay. I know that if my sister is with us, she wouldn't be too far from here. And that means that the only place she could be is inside this stadium where a YuGiOh tournament is going to take place. Why YuGiOh and Vanilla are on Mario Land is beyond me, but I need to find a way inside…Hmm?_ As the bespectacled man was deep in thought, he felt a light tap against his stomach. Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked to see Vanilla standing in front of him and her ear slightly twitching. As Murdoc focused more on the ear, he realized that it wasn't twitching-it was _pointing_.

Casting his eyes downward, he saw a small black and red card in her gloved hand behind her back. "_Ahh…She wants me to take this._ Excuse me, guard, dood. I do have my card. It's right here." Murdoc waved the small card, noticing that it didn't have anyone's name engraved on the front. "Well, as long as you didn't lose it. Now what about your other friend? Don't tell me he's entering as well?" Vanilla shook her head. "No, sir. He's this participants' guest. He's allowed everywhere but the main locker and the stage, correct?" She said with a giggle. The patrol officer blushed. "Y-yes that's correct. Um, carry on then, people, and excuse my intrusion." He bowed as he quickly made his way back into his cart and on patrol. Murdoc sighed in relief. "That was a close one. Thanks, Vanilla. I owe you one." Terry stuffed his hands into his pockets. _True, we were close to being kicked out, but isn't this just a little too convenient_? "Excuse me, but where is the restroom? I'd like to relief myself before seeing this guy lose in the first round." Murdoc smirked. "Says the one who can't beat me in said game." Vanilla laughed at the two. "It's good you two are such good friends. Anyway, the restrooms are straight ahead. The first door to your right will take you to a long hallway. You want the double doors to the left in that hall." Terry smirked. "Good friends? Hardly. I just tolerate him and his crazy antics." _Good luck, kid. I'll do my part, so you'd better not blow your end of the plan._ Terry thought as he looked back to Murdoc one last time before beginning to walk in the directions mentioned and disappearing out of sight.

Vanilla slowly walked around to face Murdoc. "Now that the guard is out of the way, you're going to tell me who you are looking for, who your friend is and who you are." Murdoc's eyebrow twitched nervously at the sudden change of the rabbit's behavior. "What reason do I have in telling you my life story?" Vanilla narrowed her eyes and gave Murdoc a glare he knew well. A glare that only a mother could give to their child. "Did I _ask_ for a life story!? I asked you 3 simple questions. I'd like them answered now. You must've had _some_ reason for not wanting to leave this area, yes?" Murdoc groaned. _Is there really a need to tell you? _"Look, I'm looking for my sister, you'll find out my name since I'll be participating in this tournament and you can ask my friend when you see him again. There. Questions answered." Vanilla crossed her arms and sighed. "Well that was certainly a half-baked answer, and it makes you suspicious, but you did answer the questions. That pass is a spare of mine, as you can tell. It has no registration number or name inscribed on it, so it's a free entry." Murdoc looked at the small plastic card in his hand. It looked about the same size as a YuGiOh card, and it was completely blank, save the tournament's logo. "Okay. But if this card is, as you say, blank, where would I go to register…"

"I'm getting to that. Follow me, as there isn't much time left to sign up." Vanilla walked past Murdoc and moved inside the large building. Once inside, he noticed that Vanilla wasn't the only thing out of place. Princess Daisy was talking to Compa, Ragna the Bloodedge was walking around, brooding as usual and Brock was talking to a young lady at a booth. She had long flowing light brown hair and dull brown eyes. She wore a black shirt with the tournament's logo on the upper left side. Much more was happening as Murdoc took in the sights out a video gamer's dream world. Characters he knew and didn't were walking around like it was the norm, and the hallway he stood in was flooded with them. Vanilla tugged on the sleeve of Murdoc's shirt and pointed to the booth where Brock was getting pulled away by IF. "I know it's a lot to take in, but before you get lost in here, please follow me as there isn't much time left. Here is where you register to participate in the Duel Monsters tournament. That _**is**_ what you're here for, _**right!?**_" The sudden change of attitude nearly gave Murdoc a heart attack. "Whoa, dood! Just calm down, Vanilla. I already told you I was participating, so relax. Anyway, do I need to have anything specific to register?" Vanilla shook her head. "No. Just your ID and that card I gave you. The ID is for verification of later duels, should you move on to the next round and that card will be used to record your deck's win and loss records."

"Oh, come on Vanilla! You're doing _**my**_ job!" The young booth girl said as she approached them. Vanilla laugh as Murdoc crossed his arms. "Oh my. Sorry about that, Serenity. This young man here was almost removed from the premises after running into me…" Serenity crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Wait. He _ran into_ you? Like, literally, crash-boom?" Murdoc blushed as he looked away from the two women. "Yeah, well…I mean I guess I should've been watching were I was going, huh?" Vanilla gave the embarrassed man a smile. "Shame, really. You look rather dignified, and yet you're kind of a scatterbrain, aren't you?" Murdoc quickly turned around and glared at Vanilla. "H-hey! What gives you the right to say that about me, huh!?" Serenity giggled at the small argument before stepping between them. "Well, I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but I need to return to my booth. Sir, if you could come with me, I could register you or tell you anything you need to know about, well, anything. Related to the Duel Monsters tournament, that is." Vanilla nodded as she turned to walk away. "That's fine, dear. I actually need to check up on a few things myself. Don't let this troublemaker cause any problems for you!" She said as her figure began to fade away in the distance. "Ugh! I am **not** a troublemaker…aww, she's already gone…" Murdoc said before walking over to Serenity's booth.

******************************Emily's Bedroom************************************

"Whoa, whoa, _**whoa**_! So you expect me to believe that your father, of all people was instantaneously transported with your aunt and uncle in tow to freaking _**MARIO LAND**_!?" Jennifer Beckly said in complete surprise at her friend's tale. While the adults were having their discussion over tea, Emily Hunter and Jennifer were in the former's room sitting on the floor eating cookies, having a similar discussion of their own. "_Shh_! Keep it down. The door might be closed, but they aren't soundproof, Jen!" Emily said while forcing her hand over Jennifer's mouth for emphasize. "Ahahaha…Sorry 'bout that, Emi. You're right. That _is_ hard to believe." Emily lowered her head. "…Oh. I won't talk about it then…"

"Hey, I never said _**I **_didn't believe _**you**_! Look, I know you well enough that I'm pretty sure you wouldn't lie about something like this. Plus if your dad went to the trouble of putting it up in the attic where it won't be seen by anyone, that would arouse suspicion, right?" Jennifer said. Emily nodded as she went to the head of her bed post. Reaching behind the large wooden frame, she pulled out a slightly tattered notebook. "This is the information that I just told you and more. The things that happened with him are written in about maybe 40-no wait, 50 or even more of these books. Well, I don't know how many, but the chest is practically filled with these books!" Emily said waving the notebook around as she talked. As she did that, a small object fell from one of the pages and landed at Jennifer's knees. "Hey. What's this thing?" Jennifer pecked it up and gasped. "Emi? Look!" Emily walked over to see why her normally loud friend was so quiet and was soon shocked at what she saw:

A small black and red card with nothing on the front or the back. Except for a peculiar logo that was all too familiar to YuGiOh players. "Now do you believe me, Jen!?" Jennifer swallowed hard, realizing that if everything was true, Emily really would have to keep quiet about her father's journals. "Emily. What if that's not what you think it is?" Emily threw her fist down to her side. "What are you talking about!? Of course it's real…"

"But that's not what I was asking, Emi. Just calm down and think for a moment. That is a YuGiOh tournament admission card, right?" Emily sat back on the floor, leaning against her bed. "Yeah, so?" Jennifer held the card up and examined it. "There are YuGiOh tournaments here too, you know. This could be the card from a tournament here a few years ago, before you were born." Emily slowly rose to her feet. "I knew it. You didn't believe me…" Jennifer quickly stood up to face her friend, whose eyes where hidden behind her bangs. "Now hold on, girl. Remember, I live with an ex-police chief. Some of my mom's habits to know all information has rubbed off on me, you know?" Emily walked over to her laptop and turned it on. "My dad was a detective, and before that a private investigator. Don't you think that I would have done my research as well, Jennifer?" Jennifer was speechless as she watched Emily stare at the fully booted computer. She lowered her face to the screen as it performed a retinal scan before a password input.

Jennifer walked over to the computer when Emily motioned for her to, and looked at the monitor as Emily gave various voiced commands. "Internet. Search online for the first 5 YuGiOh tournaments in the year 2000. Search participants by the name of Murdoc Hunter, Vernon, and Edgar." Jennifer watched in awe as Emily commanded the computer with ease, her face as serious as a military commander leading his troops to war. "Emi, I can understand you wanting to search for your dad in these tournaments, but why the different names?" Emily continued narrowing down the results using her keyboard before turning to Jennifer. "Well, according to this notebook, he had registered his name as Vernon." Jennifer raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh? Why the heck would he-Ack!" Emily cut her off by tossing the aforementioned notebook at her. "Just read it already! I'm busy." Jennifer looked at Emily. "Are you sure? Won't you get into trouble if you're caught?" Emily looked out of the corner of her eyes and smiled at her busty friend. "_If _I'm caught, Jen. I trust you." Jennifer smiled back before finding flipping through the book to find out about Murdoc's dueling registration.

**************************Mario Central: Registration Booth**************************

"So…Serenity, right? This card of mine, I heard from Vanilla, can keep track of the cards in my deck, as well as keep my win loss records?" Murdoc asked while walking with Serenity to her booth. "Yes, that's right. Oh, and my name is Serenity Wheeler. May I see that card, please?" She took the card and placed it into a small reader connected to a small netbook computer. Serenity then typed a few commands into the computer and squinted at the printing and raising an eyebrow. _Hmm… that's strange. This is an unlisted card! Only employees have this kind of card. How did this person…Oh! I remember now. He must've dropped it when he knocked Vanilla down.. He probably mistook it for his._ "Um…Excuse me, but I need to get your information to get you registered. May I have some form of ID?" Murdoc paled. _Oh, combustible lemon! How many times was I told that I need an ID!? I should've figured…_ "Alright…Ok…I…um, where is it? I, um seem to have misplaced it. Would you…" Serenity smiled and waved it off. "Don't worry about it, sir. You had quite the crash back there. Maybe Vanilla has it, and forgot to give it back to you. I'll talk to her later and return it to you after your first couple of duels. Your name, username and your deck is what I need." Murdoc breathed a sigh of relief as he held out his deck of cards. "Ok, then. Thanks, Ms. Wheeler. Vernon Edgar. Username was Dekiller."

Serenity nodded before focusing back to her work, inputting everything she needed to make the pass a legit one. "Alright, Vernon. Here you go. This pass is what you will need to enter participant only areas, as well as entering the arenas to face your opponent." Murdoc reached over the booth window to receive the pass and a small packet and gift bag. "Hmm? What's in here, Ms. Wheeler?" Serenity giggled as she walked away from her booth to face the young man. "Please, just call me Serenity. This is pretty much a gift bag. It's got a few nice collector cards in a tin, some card sleeves, a coliseum map and event guide. The usual things you would get in events such as this. Also, if you would follow me to the machine to your left…" She pointed to a large contraption that resembled a vending machine. It had three small dispensers, and a screen built into the top. "This is where you register your deck, and any changes you make between matches. The slot to the left is where you place your un-sleeved deck. It will scan your cards to ensure that you don't have any banned or illegal cards, or any fakes. The cards will show up on screen here. When the verifier has finished it's job your deck is then placed into the database, and it will dispense a micro SD card that is readable by your duel disk…OH! Your duel disk! I need to get your duel disk!" Serenity bowed politely and rushed back to her booth. "You can start verifying your cards while I'm away. I'll be right back, Vernon!" Murdoc raised his eyebrows at the energetic young lady. "Hmm. She certainly has her work cut out for her. Ok. Remove sleeves, place in first slot.. whoa!" Murdoc quickly removed his hand as the machine immediately sucked each card into a thin slot by vacuum force, reading each one individually and displaying them on the screen. Each card was validated and was shown in full detail before a prompt asking for the user's pass to be received. "Huh? Where does it go?" Murdoc looked around the machine only to see a white gloved hand pointing to a thin slot below the display screen. "My, my. I suppose it's a good thing you didn't break your glasses when we crashed." He turned around and saw Vanilla standing there with a warm smile on her lightly furred face. "Place the card right here, Vernon. And I must say, that's a very unique deck you'll be using." Murdoc smirked sheepishly as he slid his card into the reader. "How'd you find out my name? and how long were you around here, Vanilla? It's like you're a spy or something." Vanilla laughed as she ruffled his hair. "Don't be silly, dear. I'm just light footed. By the way, the registry's done. I can hardly wait to see you dueling…wait, where is your duel disk?"

As if on cue, Serenity ran up to the, out of breath and holding a rather large box in her hands. "I'm sorry I took so long, but I didn't have anymore with me so I had to get a reserve from the storage. Anyway, here you go, Vernon. A brand spanking new duel disk!" Murdoc's eyes lit up like a kid in a toy store. "Sweet! A duel disk! Hey, win or lose I can keep it right? Say I can keep it! I **can** keep it, please?" Both females laughed at his child-like behavior. "You might want to sync it with your deck first. Take that micro SD card I mentioned earlier and slid it into the receiver under the life point counter. Wow, that's a pretty interesting deck." Serenity said in awe while looking at the screen while Murdoc pulled his deck from the right slot and place it into his duel disk, activating it's functions. "What's the big deal? It's something that my mom duels with and I got it from her. Nothing major." Vanilla's smile quickly turned stoic, but was unnoticed by Murdoc, who was to entranced by his duel disk. "Your mother dueled, Vernon?" Vanilla asked, an air of seriousness in her voice. Murdoc nodded, looking up at Vanilla, who's face had become kind again. "Yeah. I mean, she's okay, but I usually beat her!" However, Murdoc had caught an underlining point in Vanilla's question: _Your mother __**dueled**_…

Murdoc, not wanting to seem suspicious yet, kept to his plan of sending a signal to Karla and getting back home. But now he had a side objective:

_Find out what Vanilla, or anyone else knows, about his missing mother, Sonya._


	7. Split Personality

**Split Personality**

Katherine Rholonda Marmo leaned forward in the mirror, putting on light touches of blush on her already rosy cheeks. "Hey, Karla! You wanna hurry up in there?" The heavy voice of her husband, Terry Marmo, was heard from behind the bathroom door. "Give me a minute, dear. If getting to the bathroom was so important, you should've been awake sooner." Smiling to herself, she didn't mind if Terry, her brother Murdoc or anyone else called her by her full first name, but she made everyone call her Karla for so long it stuck. Karla was no longer the little kid her brother had to look after anymore. She was a grown woman now, and her name should reflect that. But hearing her niece call her "Auntie Karla" was just too cute, she could argue with Emily! While those thoughts passed through her head, she stopped and looked at herself in the mirror, her smile slowly fading as she sighed to herself. She lightly touched the image of herself, watching as her opposite did the same. "After all these years, I'll never be able to look myself in the mirror the same way again…"

************************Mario Central: Marco Zone Attic*************************

"…Ungh…What happened?" Karla looked around as she slowly stood up from where she apparently had fallen. "Hey, bro? Terry?…Come on, this is a pretty lame joke…" Karla's eyes came to a stop on a few boxes piled in the far corner of the room. Other than that, the room was empty. _Apparently, I'm not in my living room anymore…_ She thought while making her way to the pile. _What'd they do? Drug me, then drag me to an empty room!? And what are these boxes, anyway?_ Before reaching them, she stopped in the bathing sunlight of the window and decided to look outside. _Huh!? N-no way! How did I end up at the beach!? Is this an attic? We never lived by the beach, and we never had an attic! And is that a giant turtle!? Where the hell AM I!?_ Karla began to pull at her hair in frustration. "Ugh! This is so irritating! So many questions, and apparently no one to help answer them. I'm stuck in an attic of who knows where in the middle of the beach, and Terry and Murdoc are gone." Looking back at the window, she walked over and pushed against it. Finding that it didn't put up any resistance, she made her decision. "Looks like I've gotta lean out a bit and dirty these new clothes I got just to escape this room! Man, what a birthday this turned out to be…Hmm? What is that back there? Is that a statue?"

Before Karla had time to get a good look around, she heard footsteps approaching the attic. "Oh, crap! I'm pretty sure that's not Murdoc or Terry!" She quickly made her way out of the window and clung for dear life to the side of the roof, while listening to the voices that slowly filled the attic's walls.

"I still don't understand why you keep coming up here. No one's been here since his disappearance, so you're not going to find anything new here. Besides, you have a tournament to run, don't you?" She heard a gruff masculine voice say. "True. But I can't help but feel that I might be able to find something, a lead that will help me get closer to his whereabouts, or even a reason why he vanished. I miss him, and coming here helps me to relax like he did," another voice said. This voice was heavy accented and very familiar, but Karla couldn't quite put her finger on where she'd heard it before. "Besides," the accented voice continued, "with the way this tournament is set up, I won't have to worry about much. I have plenty of workers keeping an eye on things. Including yourself and my younger guard." The masculine voice grumbled a bit before voicing his opinion. "Hmph. Well, I don't really approve of sending her out to keep an eye on things. She seems to have her head in the clouds, and only talks to a few other people…"

While he was talking, a ringtone went off, and was answered by the accented one. "Yes?…I see. I'm glad you found out. No, no. Let him participate, he hasn't caused any problems and it seems as though his duel monsters deck is legal, even if he has registered late. Keep an eye on him and inform my Guild representative of my decision. Also, if you can, bring me a list of the cards in his deck? Excellent, I'll be right there." Karla listened to what she could of the conversation. _Wait. Duel Monsters!? That's YuGiOh! Where in BlazBlue am I? And what of the other participant? Could that be…MY BROTHER!?_ While she was deep in thought, she heard movement coming closer to the window. "Say, Mario. Was this window open the last time we were up here?"

_Mario!?_

"No. Mama Mia, that window's always loose. Just go ahead and close it, Knuckles."

_Mama Mia!? Knuckles!?_

***Slam* *Click*** The last thing Karla heard was the closing and locking of her only way back inside the attic. _SUNOVA-*sigh* This can't be happening…_ Karla steeled herself and began to climb the roof of the house until she reached the top. As she looked over the area, her suspicions were confirmed by a giant statue of Mario standing far off to the left edge of the island. _I'm on Mario Land!? This has to be a dream, or a nightmare…_ Looking towards the ground, she realized that if she fell, she'd die. Luckily, she noticed another open window, which led to a flight of stairs down and outside safely. Quickly, but carefully strafing along the roof, Karla squeezed her way through the window. Making sure there was nobody around, she softly leaped onto the floor next to a hallway mirror. "Aww, man…My new clothes are dirty now," she said as she dusted her pants and jean jacket off. However, she stopped and slowly looked at the reflection in the mirror, noticing that even though it was supposed to be her reflection, all it did was stand with its arms crossed. Also, instead of hazel colored eyes, her reflection had a sinister green color instead. "Um, this is one strange mirror…"

"Hah! If only you knew the truth, little girl!" The reflection replied, making Karla stumble back in fright. "W-who are you!? This isn't funny anymore…Murdoc! Terry!…Mommy!" The image only laughed. "Crying for your mummy, huh? She won't be helping you anytime soon! And now, your body is finally **mine**!" The image thrust her arm out to Karla, causing her to clutch her head in pain. "Nugh…Augh…_**AAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!**_"

***********************Marmo Residents: Main Bathroom***************************

"Karla! Did you drown in there!? I know we have the day off of our respective jobs, but that doesn't mean…Karla? Whoa, you look bad!" Terry Marmo finally opened the door to see his wife clutching the edge of the bathroom sink, shaking in fear. "Ugh, no. I'm okay, Ter. I just had a flashback, that's all. Really, I'm fine." Terry smirked while placing his strong arms around Karla in a loving embrace. "Mm-hmm…And you know people who say they are fine usually are not. _**F**_rantic, _**I**_nsecure, _**N**_eurotic and _**E**_motional. Katherine, if you want to talk, I'm here." Karla smiled at hearing her full name. _I know. But this is an inner demon that I can't seem to shake. _She turned around and poked his side a few times, a ticklish spot to Terry. "HAhaha! Cut…that…out!" Karla, in the mist of her lover's laughing fit, made her exit out of the bathroom. "You've got the bathroom now, Terry. Better take advantage of it! And we'll be leaving for Murdoc's in a few hours, so hurry up~!" Terry shook his head while closing the bathroom door. "It's only 8 o' clock. We aren't headed there for another 2 hours…" _You're still the master of dodging difficult questions_…

Karla walked into her bedroom, noticing the fact that she had 3 different mirrors installed. Unlike her brother Murdoc, and his wife, Mizuki, she and Terry decided to get separate bedrooms. They do sleep together, but their lifestyles are so different they couldn't confine it to one shared room…

At least that's what _she_ told everyone. Karla had her own room for a specific reason, and that was to try and conquer her phobia of mirrors. Eisoptrophobia, as her doctor called it. A fear of mirrors or seeing one's self in a mirror._ But they don't understand. Not even Murdoc, Terry or even Mizuki truly understand. The one I saw that day, and many other days was __**not me**__!_ She moved to her sliding closet door, reaching for the handle, but stopped short when she saw her figure. Even though she wore her nightgown, she felt naked. _And even though I said I forgot what happened that day, I didn't forget. I still remember the horrible things that happened in the short span of an hour…_

********************Mario Central: Marco Zone Main Hallway************************

"What…happened…?" Karla looked up and rubbed her eyes in a daze. Rising off the floor, she took a look at her surroundings, noticing that she was still in the hallway with the mirror. But her view was different, or rather _reversed_. While the stairs and the door where still behind and in front of her respectively, the mirror that was on her left was now on the right. "_Oh my gawd…This is too weird! I've gotta get outta here and find my brother…huh!?_" When she tried to move for the front door, her body didn't comply with her movements. In fact, she felt much lighter than the 115 lbs she normally weighted. "_Why…_"

"You won't be goin' anywhere, little miss prissy." Karla looked to her right and saw _herself _standing in front of her. Her arms crossed and hair no longer bound by the accessories, glaring at her with those piercing green eyes that made Karla shiver in fear. "Welcome to the astral world. Here, you're in spirit form, weightless and detached from your body as you can clearly see." Karla had trouble breathing. "_Is this…true!? Am I dead!?_"

"No. You're not dead. And yeah, in this world, you need some real concentration to block me from hearing your thoughts." Her clone said. Karla closed her eyes and sighed. "Who are you, and how did I get like this?" Karla watched as her other self brushed her hair back and off her shoulders in a haughty manner. "Not that it matters, but I'm Ladera. And for the record, I'm keeping this body! Sure, it's not as top heavy as the last one I tried to nab, but the ass is quite nice…"

"Hey! That's my body your referring to, so stop talking about it in such a lusty manner, you!" Karla shouted at Ladera, but she only laughed. "Really? If I'm not mistaken, weren't you just looking at your ass in the mirror before your siscon brother showed up to stop you?" Karla froze, her jaw dropped when she remembered what happened moments before their separation. What she did in the mirror after her birthday gathering…

_**She then lowered her eyes and looked at her rear end to see how the jeans looked before she noticed another pair of legs standing behind her. Jerking her head forward, she saw Murdoc standing there with his arms crossed. "You better be looking for the price tag!" Karla groan, as her brother made his way back to his PC. "Ugh! Stop being so traditional, big Bro'! This is the look for females my age…" **_

"No way! How did you even _know_ about that!? Didn't you come out of that mirror?" She said as she frantically pointed to the mirror in front of her. "No. I've always have been inside of you, since the moment you were born. I know _EVERYTHING_ about you. Your fears, likes, love and hate. You could say I'm you, a shadow of your true inner self…But that would be too cliché, right?" Ladera laughed as Karla's blood began to boil. But before she had the time to reply, two men who looked like knights walked in the front door. Both men looked at Ladera, as she slowly walked towards them. Karla floated along with her body, as if being pulled by an invisible force. Ladera frowned as she noticed Karla along side her. "Tch. Seems she hasn't given up on her body just yet. Oh well, i'd better deal with these clowns first..." Before she could walk through the front door, one of the men stopped her. He had long flowing red hair that was slightly messy and the aura he projected gave Karla the chills.

"Hey there, sexy. Where do you think your going? How about we talk for a while an-" The man was cut off by a fierce shove by Ladera's hand that sent him flying back a few feet. Dispite the blow, the stranger flipped backwards and landed safely on his feet. However, Karla noticed something about the attack that seemed a bit odd. "How could she deal such a blow without touching him at all!?" However, she forgot about her current state and Ladera mentally laughed. "You forget about where you are, brat! This is Mario Central, and unlike Yird VI, if you have powers you can use them."

"...Yird? The hell is that!?" Karla said with her arms crossed. "Sounds weird." Ladera mentally smacked herself. "Hmm. I forgot you're stupid. Maybe if I gave you a few other names. Stop me if your tiny brain has heard any of them. Terra, Tierra, Pamint, Aarde, Erde, Jorden, Maa, Toka, Zeme, Dunya…"

Karla gripped her hair while she tried to take everything in. "Ugh! You don't have to treat me like an idiot! You mean Earth, right? I've heard of Terra obviously, and Toka comes to mind from what my brother was studying at one point. Everything else, over my head." Ladera smirked, before looking back at the two men. "Not as dumb as I thought. We'll talk later, seems as though pretty boy over there wants some more." As she said those words, the other male unsheathed his sword. He wore an indigo outfit with a lighter shade trim around the edges of his clothes. His hair, while being the same color as his partners, was shorter. "Zelos. Keep you hormones in check." He said with a calm attitude. Zelos only shrugged, before pulling his own sword. "Yeah, yeah. Man, Kratos. You need to live a little. Sure, we gotta fight her and all, but that's a nice piece of ass!" Ladera only crossed her arms and smirked. "I know, right? C'mon boys. No need to be a stick in the mud, let's have some fun." As she said that, she took a fighting stance that looked very familiar to Karla.

"_Is that…Tae kwon do!? I've seen Terry use that before…_"

"Um, still can hear you! I guess its true what they say about blondes…" Ladera said as she lowered her stance and readied herself for the two swordsman. The calm one quickly thrust his sword forward, making Ladera sidestep to her left. In response, she spun and almost contorted her body so she was in a position to raise her right leg over her shoulder and kick the back of Kratos' head. Zelos came down from the sky after leaping a great distance and swung his sword to his opponent. Ladera only back flipped and landed in her lowered stance. Karla was highly impressed, as the exchange of blows were almost to fast for her to keep up with. She could only marvel for a short time, though as she began to remember something about the two attackers. "_Those two are from a game my brother and I played. Hmm, the name….escapes me."_

"Hey. I'm sure the name of the game isn't important, brat. Any info about these two would help in the slightest!" Ladera said aloud after breaking away from the two swordsmen. "_Give me a good reason why-_"

"I'm in your body. You wouldn't let anything happen to it, yeah?" Ladera smirked and her green eyes narrowed, making her look even more menacing. "Now. Search that tiny brain of yours and tell me what you know about them. After all, you didn't really believe this was all a game, right?" Karla sighed, feeling defeated. First she ends up in a weird world with video game characters, separated from her brother and her friend. Now a rouge spirit has taken over her body, forcing her mind and spirit out. "_…They use magic. I don't know what kind. My brother played more than I did…_" Ladera turned back to her attackers. "Good. You told me just in time, girl. Apparently, they've been building up their mana all this time. You might want to shield your eyes…"

Zelos and Kratos had been talking amongst themselves during their time away from the fight. "Zelos. This is no ordinary girl. I sense a strong energy coming from her, but it seems unstable." Kratos said, his composure as calm as before. Surprisingly, Zelos was just was serious. "Yeah. It's like two energies clashing with each other. Polar opposites usually destroy each other when they mesh like that, right? So, how is she still standing, let alone fighting both of us at the same time?" Kratos glared at his enemy, formulating a plan. "We need to subdue her. Knock her unconscious so we can take her to Mario. But try not to hurt her too much. Ready?" Zelos smirked, readying his sword. "It would have been a lot easier had she have just agreed to go out with me…" Kratos smirked, shaking his head. …"Let's just end this." Kratos and Zelos rushed to their foe, blades in hand flowing with energy. Zelos thrust his empty hand out to Ladera. "**Air, Form a Dividing Blade Between my Enemies! Air Blade!**" As he spoke, a great force of wind rushed at Ladera and Karla. Karla however didn't feel the force and was only able to watch as Ladera did her best to avoid the fast air strikes.

But because she was unaffected by the first attack, she was able to see through the setup.

"_Ladera! The other swordsman is coming through the first attack!_" As Karla was warning her body snatcher, Kratos rushed in low, his sword ready to strike. "**O' Heavenly Lightning, Bring thine Judgment and Course Through the Cursed Bodies of Our Enemies! Volt Arrow/ Thunder Arrow!**" Ladera sneered as she covered her face. "Finally you've become of some use, girl.. Beings in the astral plane obviously aren't effected by 3rd dimension magic. And their about to learn the hard way who they're dealing with!" At those words her green eyes glowed fiercely and a force field knocked Kratos and Zelos a few feet away. However, Ladera didn't have the slightest look of fatigue, shocking both Karla and Kratos. "Wait, green glowing eyes and magic repel? You're…Ladera!?" Before Kratos could react, Ladera was in his face, sneering like before. "That's right. You realized it too little too late, I'm afraid. Sleep tight…" Zelos tried to reach his friend in time, but could only watch as his abdomen was struck with enough force to send him to his knees. "KRATOS…!"

"Don't worry." Ladera voice was heard calmly from behind Zelos. Both he and Karla were visibly shaken. "_When did she…_" Karla said, sinking to her knees, hugging herself in terror. Zelos could only turn his head to the side in shock. "How did you…" Ladera only stood there. "He's alive, but he won't be moving anytime soon. Like you~!" Zelos felt a quick, sharp pain around his neck before his vision faded.

Karla, still on her knees, watched as Ladera stood between the two beaten men as she laughed manically at her victory. "…You're still here? Just fade out of existence, you brat!" She said to the astral form of Karla. Karla, however, slowly stood up. "I want my body back! You…turned my body into a vicious killer! Gimme back my body, _**NOW**_!" She rushed at her body as Ladera only crossed her arms in mock anger. "Aww~ the little brat is growing some backbone. This should be interesting…" Karla was focusing on one thing at the moment: "I have to find Murdoc! I have to find Terry! I have to find them!" And as she dove for her body, Kratos snapped his hand out and grabbed Ladera's ankle. Pain showing on his face, he began another incantation. "**Consume and Destroy, O' Covering Darkness! Negative Gate!**" At those words, a dark energy formed a barrier around Ladera, paralyzing her. "What!? Argh! Damn you, Kratos!" Karla took advantage of the distraction and was able to force Ladera out, reclaiming her own body. However, the battle that Ladera had fought put a strain on the body that Karla was not accustomed to. Not only that, but the spell Kratos cast before passing out still had a lingering effect. "Ugh…Ahh…Brother. Gotta…find…Murdoc…" Karla said, breathing heavily and crawling away from the remnants of battle. Slowly bringing herself back to her feet, Karla looked out past the house and saw what looked to be a rather large building. "Is that…the place Mario and Knuckles were talking about in the attic?"

"_Hey! Don't think you'll have this body for much longer!_" The angry voice of Ladera was heard inside her mind. "_When I get my strength back, you body WILL be mine!_" Karla winced at the booming voice, but slowly pressed on, looking at the brightly lit building with the Yu-Gi-Oh logo on the side. "He has to be there. If Murdoc is here, he'll be in that building. He would never pass up a chance to play Yu-Gi-Oh."

Not too far from the limping Karla, behind a wall stood a short brunette with an open blue jacket that looked two sizes too big on her. She reached into one of six phone cases on her belt and flipped it open, tapping a few keys before bring it to her ear. "This is the Guild Rep. We've got a situation at Marco Zone. Connect me to Mario…"


End file.
